Covelo Road closed for nearly 12 hours

Highway 162 was shut down from 5:23 a.m. until just after 5 p.m. Wednesday following a vehicle accident on the wet roadway.

A Solid Waste of Willits truck driven by John Carlos Vau, 40, of Willits, was driving westbound on Highway 162 about .2 miles from Highway 101 when he lost control of his rig, says the California Highway Patrol. The garbage truck hit a utility pole, shearing it and bringing down a snarled tangle of cable and telephone lines. No power lines touched the ground. The truck came to rest on its side, according to CHP reports.

Vau was not injured, and no hazardous materials were released.

Utility workers from PG&E, Verizon and other agencies were called to the scene, but it took nearly 12 hours to sort out the mess, install a new utility pole and restring the lines.

The Laytonville-Dos Rios Road was the only way past the closed section at Highway 101. Mendocino County Department of Transportation crews were out along this roadway to ensure it remained passable. A late-afternoon rumor surfaced about the road being closed due to a slide, but this proved false.

This is the second major closure of the Covelo Road this winter, causing major disruption to commerce and families in Round Valley.

Vau was wearing his seatbelt, and alcohol and or drug impairment is not believed to be a factor in this collision, says CHP.